If you were to take a statistical analysis simply in terms of ink spilled over Lynch's films, I think you would be justified in coming to the conclusion that Wild at Heart is the least popular. I mean, if you trawl through all the topics and discussions on this part of the site (and other fan sites) the occurence of WAH discussions or references is quite negligible. 

Can we safely say therefore, that WAH is lynch's worst film ?

Please discuss!

No, that would be Dune.

WAH isnt my favorite, but it isnt Dune bad. 

Wow, I'm amazed at this thread! I think WAH is incredible. Clearly way better than Dune, which sucked pretty hard. The only reason I keep my DVD of that is for completion. More coherent than Eraserhead. More Lynchian than The Elephant Man.

Sure, it's not as great as FWWM or Lost Highway, and it's maybe a shade or two behind Mulholland Dr., but they are all masterpieces, WAH included.

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Absolutely. I prefer WAH sooooooooooo much more than Dune.

Don't get me wrong, when I was a kid I quite enjoyed Dune - the effects and sound design were strange and interesting, quite a nice counterpart to the Star Wars-style effects that we were so used to back then. Maybe if Lynch had been allowed to make a longer cut using all those extra hours of footage, I might feel differently about it - but I saw Dune a couple of months ago and found it almost unwatchable, save a few exceptional scenes. It's a shame, really, because there's definitely something worthwhile there, but it seems to get swamped beneath the plot jumps and confusing pacing of the storyline.

Plus, knowing what a nightmare the experience was for David kind of tarnishes it for me...

"Every day holds a new beginning and every hour holds the promise of an Invitation to Love." 

Lurve WAH! It's one of my faves. It's campy, it's dark, it's soooo gay in it's gay iconic references it makes Priscilla, Queen of the Dessert look dour.

Dune. Well, I'm so-so on Dune. I think the difficulty I have with Dune is that I know it's a Lynch film and I feel it's so obvious he isn't being entirely true to himself in it; big studio influences and such. This, I feel contributes heavily to the awkwardness of the film.

On the third day he took me to the river
He showed me the roses and we kissed
And the last thing I heard was a muttered word
As he stood smiling above me
With a rock in his fist

They call me the wild rose
But my name was Eliza Day
Why they call me it I do not know
For my name was Eliza Day

I used to not care for Wild At Heart, and it would have been at the bottom of my list then. But it's grown on me over the past couple of years/viewings, and now it would have to be Dune.

Each of his other films strikes me as having some unique and special place in his collection of work. Dune does have a lot of good qualities as a film, but in my view its role doesn't really extend much beyond The Film Where Lynch Had Crazy Money And A Bunch Of Stuff Went Wrong.

Absolutely Wild at Heart is not the worst film!! I could repeat Smokey's words: it is both hilarious (truly) and very "Lynchian" (images!). The reason why perhaps it is less discussed is that there are no special complications about it that we could discuss... It's a film to watch, not to talk about! ;-) And that's sheer pleasure if you asked me!

Bobi 1 Kenobi

B. Beware
O. Of
B. BOB 

Bobi 1 Kenobi

B. Beware
O. Of
B. BOB 

Um.  What?

Now, I have long been a detractor of WAH, I'll admit.  Even including Dune, I think it is my least favorite.  Part of this has to do with my intense dislike of Nicolas Cage; however, I can still enjoy it for its good moments.

And, for the record, I don't think its entirely fair to compare Elephant man and Dune with later films where Lynch has had more creative control.  EM is magnificent, and Dune, though most people hate it, has a sci-fi kitsch factor that I find totally fun.  But it is important to remember that Lynch was working within certain constraints and couldn't do a lot of the sorts of things he could on later films after he bacame more of a name.

The problem I have with WAH may just be that I don't believe in the love between Sailor and Lula the way the narrative (I think) wants me to.  I personally find it easier to believe that these two are just really, really stupid and don't know any better than to hump constantly than I do the idea that their pure love conquors all, etc. etc. blah blah blah.  Cause actually, I think I pretty much like every part of the movie they aren't in.  :)

I guess if you believe in such a thing as true love and soulmates, this film might be just right for you.  I would be interested in hearing from other detractors what they make of this mini-theory of mine.  :)

WAH is one of my favorites. I like it better than IE and maybe even better than Lost Highway. The Bobby Peru scenes alone are priceless.

-B

Well, looks like some great minds think alike.  Wild at Heart is one of my favorite Lynch films, especially with all the references to the Wizard of Oz (I just have a thing for it like David does.)  And I just don't get Lost Highway.

And, as anybody who has heard me defend Dune will know, I love that movie, too, maybe not as much for the "lynchian or non-lynchianism" of the movie, but because it introduced me to David and got me into the Frank Herbert books.

Keep your eye on the doughnut, not on the hole -- DL

I disagree totally with this bold "WAH is Lynch's worst film" Roque. grrrrrrr.

Before M.D appeared W.A.H WAS my favourite Lynch film.  It is strill pretty way up there I find it easier to watch than some and it holds my interest more.  I do like the naked Nic Cage but no that's not it..heh.  I think it is better than Lost Highway, Blue Velvet and DEFINETLY Dune.  It just holds my interest waaay more and sorry geoff I don't think it is about two incredibly stupid humping characters. Interesting theory though, lol. But I guess I am one of the types who does believe in soulmates and romantic shite like that so that's probly why.

I mean I don't know or understand how you can possibly put this movie so way down there, think about the brilliant scenes! The Sherilyn death scene, the Wicked Game highway scene, the Sailor getting the shit kicked out of him and good witch Sheryl at the end, Marietta melting like the wicked witch...Perdita in general..., Bobby Peru,how can all this be dismissed so easily?!?

I'm waiting!

"watch out for my cousin.."

MD is another one that uses the notion of "love" (or at least infatuation) between main characters as the main driving force of the narrative.  So it's not surprising that people who like WAH also like MD as their two top favs.

MD is quite a bit more twisted, though... but not everyone always admits this.

Wow, Brian...I was surprised to hear how highly you rated WAH, not that there's anything wrong with it. It's cool...I might have to go with you on liking it better than Lost Highway...but I think very highly of Inland Empire and I definitely wouldn't place it above Blue Velvet or The Elephant Man...just some thoughts, y'all like what you want to...Crunch all you want, they'll make more...

p.s. I see a list category being spawned out of this real soon...

"Every day holds a new beginning and every hour holds the promise of an Invitation to Love." 

That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!

Wild At Heart is actually far more influential than it's usually given credit for.  In many ways I think it anticipated and ushered in the early 90s wave of hyperviolent and kinetic road/crime spree movies like Natural Born Killers, True Romance, Resevoir Dogs, Killing Zoe, The Living End, Pulp Fiction, The Professional, The Doom Generation, Kiss or Kill,  Freeway, and (directly) Perdita Durango. 

For years it was Fire Walk With Me that was the neglected entry, not only torn apart by critics but barely receiving a passing mention in books focusing on Lynch.  It's only been in the last few years that it's garnered a critical reappraisal.

Got up early, found something's missing/ My only name/ No one else sees but I got stuck/ And soon forever came

You're definitely right there (as for Wild at Heart being very influential) - which is the reason I think why it was awarded in Cannes: they kind of anticipated that it could be a very important film. It was VERY important perhaps more important than actually good... and perhaps not ;-)

Just wanted to say that the thread-starting observation is not exactly true anymore, because of all my top-five threads, Wild at Heart got the biggest number of votes (which surprised me but I'm very glad! :-)))

Blue Velvet's winning scenes gained about 30 points (even with the votes added later it's still about 35), Twin Peaks Pilot's winners about 25-30.
Wild at Heart's Sherilyn Fenn scene got 49 points and that's quite a difference!
And for the first time the whole top five won over 20 points.

So we do like talking about this film! Like I suggested before, perhaps there's not much to discuss about in terms of solving mysteries. Everything is pretty much on the surface in Wild at Heart, the narration is linear, we know who is who and what to expect.

But the style, man, the style!!! I feel this film is climbing up my list even though I haven't seen it for a few years :-)

I think I pretty much understand the point you were making about soulmates and "true love" in connection with Wild at Heart. But I do not understand what it has to do with Mulholland Drive at all.
One of the reasons why I don't like M.D. is that there is no love at all in this film, in the 'dream part' everything is false and artificial like in a bad Hollywood flick, and it the 'reality part' everything is wrong, dirty, doesn't make sense etc. There's nothing good in this film and what's worse there's not even a feeling that something good might exist at all.

Bobi 1 Kenobi

B. Beware
O. Of
B. BOB 

One of the reasons I've always found Quentin Tarantino overrated is I can see how heavily he's 'borrowed' from Wild At Heart - particularly in the screenplay for Natural Born Killers.

I don't watch Wild At Heart very often because the murder (or should I say manslaughter) at the beginning turns my stomach. I'm not squeamish but I find that scene quite traumatic. I also really dislike the end credits and think I might actually be a bit phobic!  

Pool of blood and Love Me Tender aside Wild At Heart's very underrated and I like it a lot. I must have watched the Good Witch scene at least 500 times and every scene with Marietta in is genius. 

Quote from This Is The Girl i think :S

Denise, I would assume you're no longer interested in girls.

Coop, I may be wearing a dress, but I still pull my panties on one leg at a time, if you know what I mean.

Not really.